Bessemer mayor says police removed 300 guns from the streets in 2022

BESSEMER, Ala. (WBRC) - Bessemer Police have taken hundreds of guns off the streets in the past year, and Bessemer Mayor Kenneth Gulley said public safety remains top of mind.

During his State of the City Address this week, the mayor said the crime rate in Bessemer dropped 6.3% in 2022, marking the 10th consecutive year of declining crime in the city.

Mayor Gulley said a declining crime rate is a trend he wants to continue in the city.

He said the Bessemer Police Department solved most of the homicides that happened in the city last year and said the police department dismantled a major drug trafficking operation in the city with the suspects facing state and federal charges.

Mayor Gulley said the city is also safer because police got more than 300 firearms off the streets.

“You know, our guys, they hit the street every day and looking for the problems that we can solve in the in the community the neighborhoods and guns are one of them. The bulk of those guns came from either traffic stops where arrests were made or from crime scenes where a crime was committed. 300 guns. So, if you think about it, that’s almost one a day,” Lt. Christian Clemons.

Mayor Gulley said the department plans to hire dozens of new police officers, and invest $1.7 million in upgrading their current body cameras to the latest technology.

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